Charity

Salute Military Golf Association

The terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 highlighted a new source of threats to U.S national security and provided an impetus for U.S engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq. The combat operations that followed generated considerable challenges for US Military Forces and resulted in a significant increase in the wounded warrior population. SMGA recognizes that freedom isn't free, and honors the tremendous costs associated with armed conflict paid by individual citizens and their families. SMGA seeks to help the soldier, sailor, and airman's recovery from wounds resulting from these conflicts, aiding them in finding a new normal.

For servicemen and women wounded in defense of the US as well as their families, lives have been changed indelibly; the wounds they have sustained will have long lasting impacts and often require long-term treatment. In consultation with the medical health professionals at Walter-Reed Military Medical Center, SMGA founders Jim Estes and Jamie Winslow developed and articulated a belief that for this longer-term treatment to achieve a maximum rehabilitative value, it must be holistic and far-reaching in scope in order to adequately address the profound needs for service members and their families in search of that new sense of normalcy.

SMGA seeks to provide wounded warriors with enduring rehabilitation and a sense of empowerment by leveraging the sport of golf to foster an environment of trust; opportunities for physical, psychological, and even spiritual healing; and personal growth. Empowerment is an idea central to the activities of SMGA, which seeks to enable and equip wounded warriors to work towards overcoming challenges through reliance on one's self in addition to external support. The overarching tenacity, patience, and persistence of the organization to reach as many of these individuals as possible are captured within the phrase, "Empowering wounded warriors one fairway at a time."